Gay Brewer

Gay Brewer
Gay Brewer
Personal information
Full name	Gay Robert Brewer Jr.
Born	March 19, 1932; Middletown, Ohio, U.S.
Died	August 31, 2007 (aged 75); Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Children	2
Career
Turned professional	1956
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour; Champions Tour;
Professional wins	17
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	10
PGA Tour Champions	1
Other	5 (regular); 1 (senior);
Best results in major championships; (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1967
PGA Championship	T7: 1972
U.S. Open	5th/T5: 1962, 1964
The Open Championship	T6: 1968

Gay Robert Brewer Jr. (March 19, 1932 – August 31, 2007) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and won the 1967 Masters Tournament.

Career

Brewer turned professional in 1956 and made his first cut, at the Agua Caliente Open, tying for 12th. His first top-10 as a pro came at the Philadelphia Daily News Open (tied for eighth), and his first top-five performance was at the Miller High Life Open in Milwaukee (tied for fifth). Playing on the PGA Tour in 1965, he won the Hawaiian Open. At the 1966 Masters Tournament, he bogeyed the final hole to finish in a three-way tie for the lead after regulation play but ended up finishing third to Jack Nicklaus following an 18-hole playoff. He came back to win the prestigious event the next year, scoring a one stroke victory over lifelong friend Bobby Nichols in the first live television broadcast of a golf tournament from the United States to Europe. Brewer called winning the 1967 Masters "the biggest thrill I've had in golf".^[1]

Overall, Brewer was victorious in 10 tour events during his career. He was known for his jovial personality and his unusual golf swing. Brewer joined the Senior PGA Tour and won the 1984 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf tournament with Billy Casper and at age sixty-three he won the 1995 MasterCard Champions Championship. His final competitive round was at the 2001 Masters Tournament.^[1]

Brewer died at his home in Lexington, Kentucky from lung cancer.^[2] At the time of his death, he was engaged to Alma Jo McGuire.^[3]

Amateur wins

This list may be incomplete.

1949 Kentucky State Boys, U.S. Junior Amateur
1950 Kentucky State Boys
1951 Kentucky State Boys
1952 Southern Amateur

Professional wins (17)

PGA Tour wins (10)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (9)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Aug 20, 1961	Carling Open Invitational	−3 (72-72-66-67=277)	1 stroke	Billy Maxwell
2	Nov 26, 1961	Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational	−13 (69-66-74-66=275)	1 stroke	Johnny Pott
3	Dec 3, 1961	West Palm Beach Open Invitational	−14 (69-64-70-71=274)	4 strokes	Arnold Palmer
4	May 5, 1963	Waco Turner Open	−12 (72-70-71-67=280)	1 stroke	Ted Ball
5	Sep 26, 1965	Greater Seattle Open Invitational	−9 (69-72-66-72=279)	Playoff	Doug Sanders
6	Nov 7, 1965	Hawaiian Open	−7 (74-72-67-68=281)	Playoff	Bob Goalby
7	Mar 7, 1966	Pensacola Open Invitational	−16 (65-69-67-71=272)	3 strokes	Bruce Devlin
8	Mar 26, 1967	Pensacola Open Invitational (2)	−26 (66-64-61-71=262)	6 strokes	Bob Keller
9	Apr 9, 1967	Masters Tournament	−8 (73-68-72-67=280)	1 stroke	Bobby Nichols
10	Jul 9, 1972	Canadian Open	−9 (67-70-68-70=275)	1 stroke	Sam Adams, Dave Hill

PGA Tour playoff record (2–6)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1959	West Palm Beach Open Invitational	Pete Cooper, Arnold Palmer	Palmer won with par on fourth extra hole
2	1965	Greater Seattle Open Invitational	Doug Sanders	Won with par on first extra hole
3	1965	Hawaiian Open	Bob Goalby	Won with birdie on first extra hole
4	1966	Masters Tournament	Tommy Jacobs, Jack Nicklaus	Lost 18-hole playoff; Nicklaus: −2 (70), Jacobs: E (72), Brewer: +6 (78)
5	1966	Tournament of Champions	Arnold Palmer	Lost 18-hole playoff; Palmer: −3 (69), Brewer: +1 (73)
6	1969	IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic	Dave Hill, Tommy Jacobs, R. H. Sikes	Hill won with birdie on first extra hole
7	1974	American Golf Classic	Jim Colbert, Forrest Fezler, Raymond Floyd	Colbert won with par on second extra hole Brewer and Fezler eliminated by par on first hole
8	1976	Walt Disney World National Team Championship (with Bobby Nichols)	Woody Blackburn and Billy Kratzert	Lost to birdie on third extra hole

Other wins (5)

This list is probably incomplete.

1951 Kentucky Open (as an amateur)
1965 PGA National Four-ball Championship (with Butch Baird)
1967 Alcan Golfer of the Year Championship
1968 Alcan Golfer of the Year Championship
1972 Taiheiyo Club Masters

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runners-up
1	Sep 3, 1984	Citizens Union Senior Golf Classic	−9 (68-69-67=204)	2 strokes	Billy Casper, Rod Funseth

Other senior wins (1)

This list is probably incomplete.

1984 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Billy Casper)

Source:^[4]

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1967	Masters Tournament	2 shot deficit	−8 (73-68-72-67=280)	1 stroke	Bobby Nichols

Results timeline

Tournament	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

Tournament	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament		T11	CUT	T25	CUT	3	1	T35	CUT
U.S. Open	CUT	5	CUT	T5	16	T36	T38	T9	CUT
The Open Championship							CUT	T6	15
PGA Championship		CUT	T49	8	T28	27	T28	T20	T25

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	T31	CUT		T10	CUT	CUT	T23	CUT	T29	CUT
U.S. Open	7	T9	T25					26
The Open Championship	T32			T10	T37
PGA Championship	CUT		T7	T64	T17	T33

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	CUT	T15	45	47	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	WD
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	WD
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

Tournament	2000	2001
Masters Tournament	CUT	WD
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

Win

Top 10

Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied

Summary

Tournament	Wins	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	1	1	2	3	7	39	12
U.S. Open	0	0	2	5	7	17	10
The Open Championship	0	0	0	2	3	6	5
PGA Championship	0	0	0	2	5	13	11
Totals	1	1	4	12	22	75	38

Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1965 U.S. Open – 1967 U.S. Open)
Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1972 PGA – 1973 Open Championship)

Source:^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Gay Brewer: Masters Champ With Loopy Swing". GolfCompendium.com. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "1967 Masters champion Brewer dies at 75 from lung cancer". PGA Tour. August 31, 2007. Archived from the original on September 4, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
^ "Gay Brewer, 1967 Masters champ, dead at 75". Golf.com. August 31, 2007. Archived from the original on April 12, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Gay Brewer". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 22, 2023.

External links

Gay Brewer at the PGA Tour official site
Gay Brewer at Find a Grave

[ga-1] "Gay Brewer: Masters Champ With Loopy Swing". GolfCompendium.com. Retrieved January 22, 2023.

[death-2] "1967 Masters champion Brewer dies at 75 from lung cancer". PGA Tour. August 31, 2007. Archived from the original on September 4, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2023.

[3] "Gay Brewer, 1967 Masters champ, dead at 75". Golf.com. August 31, 2007. Archived from the original on April 12, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2023.

[bio-4] "Gay Brewer". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 22, 2023.

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